After Tragedy Strikes
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: <html><head></head>After the explosion Shay and Casey are left fighting for their lives.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Hi everyone! So, as I am completely unable to believe that they killed off such a great character, I have decided to write my own version of what happens after the explosion. I hope you enjoy it!**

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

As the dust from the explosion settled it was the men and women of firehouse fifty-one who were left to deal with the repercussions. And their lives would never be the same.

On the fourth floor, one by one the firefighters were pulling themselves and their coworkers from the concrete rubble. Barring a few scrapes everyone on the upper floors was okay... except Lieutenant Matt Casey.

A part of the upper floor had collapsed in on where Casey had stood, and he was half buried by debris.

"Guys, help me shift this," Squad lieutenant Kelly Severide ordered, taking charge in the chaos.

Even those who were injured jumped to follow the command, if they weren't already attempting to free Casey, who had been knocked out cold by falling debris.

But soon they came to a piece of concrete too heavy to shift. Matt's legs had been crushed under the massive weight. There was no way to free him, other than to amputate.

"Mills, assess Casey's condition, then wait with him. Everyone else needs to get out, tell the chief that we need a trauma surgeon here." Kelly knew Matt well enough to know that he wouldn't want his guys to see the career ending surgical procedure, even though they would almost all have seen amputations before, this was different, and Kelly knew it.

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><p>Meanwhile on the first floor, Gabriela Dawson knelt over her partner, Leslie Shay, who lay lifeless on the floor amidst the debris. Dawson desperately performing chest compressions on Shay in an attempt to revive her.<p>

"Come on Shay! Come on!" Dawson shouted frantically as she performed the compressions on her injured partner. Silently she prayed that help would arrive soon, that her other colleagues had escaped the blast uninjured and would be there any second. As the building that they were in was literally crumbling down around them.

Dawson looked around at the debris, searching for their gear, only to find to her dismay that the defibrillator - the item she most needed at that moment - had been destroyed in the blast.

All their gear had either been damaged or buried in rubble, all Dawson could do for her partner was keep up compressions, and pray that help would arrive in time.

Then there was a faint sound, a voice calling from the upper floors. "Shay! Dawson! Call out if you can hear me!" It was Severide.

"We're here! Shay's hurt!" Gabby called out as loudly as she could through the smoke and dust filled air.

There was a long pause, before Gabby heard Kelly's response, "We're coming."

If she had not been sustaining Shay's life with the chest compressions, Gabby would have sagged with relief.

Another thirty seconds or so passed before Dawson heard the scraping of rubble from where the stairs had been, and finally Severide appeared through a gap in the concrete which had fallen in.

"Oh god, Shay," Gabby heard Kelly murmur in shock at the sight of his lifeless best friend.

"She had a pulse when I found her," Gabby reported. "We've got to get her out of here."

"Here, I've got her," Severide said, moving to lift Shay. "Follow me. Stay close."

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><p>Battling their way through the partially collapsed structure, Severide led Dawson out to the nearest ambulance. As soon as Shay's body hit the waiting gurney two unfamiliar paramedics took over CPR on her.<p>

Chief Boden rushed over to meet the pair, and without taking his eyes off of his best friend, Severide relayed what he knew of the situation.

As they spoke most of the firefighters from fifty-one made their way out of the building down an external fire escape, some being helped to walk over to awaiting ambulances.

Gabby looked over to the crowd of battered firefighters, searching for her boyfriend, but there was no sign of Matt. Matt was still inside the damaged building.

"...trapped on the fourth floor, Mills is with him. We need the trauma surgeon here. Rest of the guys seemed to be okay." Gabby overheard the end of Kelly's report to the chief.

"Severide, where's Matt?"

Boden took a step towards her. "Dawson, you should sit down."

"No. Just tell me. Matt's hurt, isn't he?"

Kelly also moved closer to Dawson, ready to steady her if need be. "Matt's trapped, his legs are caught under some concrete that we couldn't shift."

Her mind clicking into place what she had heard about needing a trauma surgeon, Gabby began to frantically shake her head. "No, no. You can't."

"I'm sorry, Dawson. I really am. We can't get him out any other way," Kelly said as Boden made the request for a trauma surgeon over the radio.

"I want to be with him," Gabby told Severide.

"No way," Chief Boden interrupted quickly. "No one other than the surgeon is going back in, this structure is too unstable."

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><p>Inside the building Casey was now conscious, and starting to panic. As a firefighter he knew the full brevity of his own situation, though yet another knock to the head wasn't doing him any favours, and to the best of his current ability he accepted what would be necessary to free him, but the uncertainty he felt not knowing if his girlfriend had made it out safely was rapidly becoming too much.<p>

It was a terrible feeling for the lieutenant not to be able to protect his own girlfriend.

It felt like a lifetime had passed since Severide had left to search for Gabby and Shay, and not much less time since Hermann had led the rest of their coworkers out of the building through a still functional fire escape.

"Take it easy, Lieutenant. You've got to lie still," Peter Mills said, concerned. "Help will be here soon, we'll get you out."

"Gabby. Did Severide find her? Is she okay?" Matt asked urgently, not for the first time.

"I don't know, but Gabby's tough. I'm sure she's okay. And she'll be mad as hell if you hurt yourself further, so lie back down."

Casey complied, feeling another wave of dizziness crash over him.

"Hey! Stay with me, Lieutenant," Mills said worriedly. With each passing minute he could see Casey's mental status waning. "You just gotta hang in here for a few more minutes, then we'll get you out, and you can see Gabby. Stay with me."

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Outside Boden was working to coordinate Casey's rescue, while Gabby sat by helplessly. Given the unstable state of the building, a ladder had been positioned to give access to the floor where Casey was trapped.

One by one injured firefighters were being loaded into the ambulances to go to Lakeshore Hospital, the first to go being Shay.

"Surgeon's here!" A firefighter from one of the backup crews called out, alerting the chief, who then moved to meet the surgeon.

"You have a double above knee amputation for me?" The surgeon asked.

"Yes. One of my men is trapped on the fourth floor, report is that his legs are pinned under concrete, he also has a head injury. Our radios aren't working so I can't give you more information. Mills, the guy who's with Matt, is EMT certified, he will be able to assist you. Access is via this ladder," Boden pointed to the appropriate ladder, as he called for another firefighter to help the doctor carry his equipment up.

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><p>"How much further?" The paramedic caring for Shay called out to her partner. They had restarted Shay's heart, and decompressed a collapsed lung, but her condition was still very unstable.<p>

"We're two minutes out. Docs are waiting for us."

"Go faster," The paramedic urged. "Damn it! She's in v-fib!"

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><p>Several minutes earlier<p>

"Mills, where's Gabby?" Matt asked, not remembering having asked the same question just thirty seconds ago. His condition was worsening rapidly, which Mills knew could be a sign of a brain injury or the increasingly significant blood loss.

"I'm sure she's- Hang on," Mills said, spotting a ladder being brought to a nearby broken window. Quickly Peter stood, and made his way to the window. A moment later he saw McFarland from truck sixty-six climbing towards him with a medics bag slung over his shoulder.

"Medics thought you might need this. Surgeon is on route, and there's an ambulance on standby."

"Thanks," Mills replied. "Hey, do you know if a paramedic - Gabriela Dawson - made it out okay?"

"Yeah, she's out. Keeps demanding to be let up here, your chief won't let her."

"Good, don't let her. Casey's in bad shape, she shouldn't see. Thanks for the gear."

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><p>"Sedative's in, you intubate and bag him, I'll set up," The surgeon, Dr Lang told Peter as he began laying out his surgical equipment. Peter couldn't help but grimace as the surgeon tested the bone saw, still he managed to slide the endotracheal tube down Casey's throat, secure it, and connect the vital flow of oxygen.<p>

"Is everything set to evacuate him when I'm done here?" Dr Lang questioned.

"Hey!" Mills called out to the firefighter waiting by the window, "We need a stokes basket, ropes, and a c-collar up here."

"Coming up."

"Okay, I'm going to start now," Dr Lang said picking up the scalpel.

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><p>Within minutes the rescue basket holding Matt was lowered down the ladder, and as he was loaded onto the waiting gurney, Gabby rushed to be by his side.<p>

Matt remained unconscious due to the sedatives given, another paramedic had taken over bagging him. He was as pale as a ghost, and the back of his hair was matted with blood, but what horrified Gabby the most at that moment was the sight of what remained of his legs, stumps less than half the length of his thighs wrapped in thick bloodied gauze.

Forcing down the urge to be sick, Gabby focused on Matt's face as she hurriedly followed his gurney into one of the last ambulances.

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><p>The waiting room of the emergency department of Lakeshore Hospital was overflowing with emergency personnel. Even those who had been treated for minor injuries and released had joined the vigil for Casey and Shay.<p>

"Family for Matthew Casey," A nurse called out as she entered the crowded room.

Gabby stepped forward shakily. She had called Matt's mum, but due to her parole conditions Nancy was unable to be there. "How's Matt?"

"The CT scan revealed an epidural bleed in his brain, we're prepping him for emergency neurosurgery to relieve the pressure. I'm sorry, his condition is highly critical."

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><p>Another hour passed before another nurse came over to the group. "Family for Leslie Shay," The nurse asked.<p>

With a subtle nod from the chief, Severide stepped forward. Again, though Leslie's parents had been contacted they wouldn't arrive for many hours. "How is she?"

"Extremely critical," The nurse replied bluntly. "We're taking her to theatre to repair chest, abdominal, and pelvic injuries. We'll know more in a few hours."

"Is she gonna make it?"

"We'll know more in a few hours," The nurse repeated. "You should prepare yourselves. Even if the surgeon can repair her injuries, there is a possibility that her brain was deprived of oxygen for too long."

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

With two of their friends and colleagues in surgery in critical condition the hours dragged by slowly for the members of firehouse fifty-one. There was nothing they could do now but wait.

And wait they did, for going on five hours before they were met by one of the trauma surgeons, the same one, Dr Lang - Gabby noted - who had been on scene. Still very shaky, she stood. "How is he? Can I see him?" Gabby asked.

"Matthew's stable, and you can go up to visit him once the nurses have settled him in the intensive care unit. We will keep him sedated and on the ventilator for a couple of days to be on the safe side, and monitor him very closely, but everything went as well as we could hope for."

"So he'll be alright?"

"It is too early to say, but so far his neurological examinations are promising. I'll have a nurse escort you upstairs when he's settled."

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><p>Though Gabby wanted to wait for word on her partner, the pull to be by her boyfriend's side was too strong. Boden promised that they would get word to her when they heard about Shay.<p>

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><p>It was another four hours before a doctor came to discuss Shay's condition with them. The doctor, a man in his late thirties, approached the group looking tired and slightly sad.<p>

For a moment they all thought that he was there to tell them that Shay had died.

"Leslie is out of surgery, and we're moving her to the ICU shortly. The surgery went as well as we could have hoped. We repaired her collapsed lung, pinned two fractures in her pelvis, unfortunately one kidney was too damaged and needed to be removed, and the other is severely bruised and not currently functional, so we have had to place Leslie on dialysis. Currently our biggest concern is whether there has been any neurological damage, and I'm afraid that we won't know that until she wakes up, if she wakes up."

"If?" Kelly asked, feeling as though the rug had just been ripped out from under him. This couldn't be happening, his best friend had to wake up, she just had to.

"I'm sorry that the news isn't better. You can go sit with her soon."

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><p>As soon as he was allowed, Kelly went upstairs to the ICU to sit with Shay. And if it was confronting for Severide the last time his best friend had been injured, this was a hundred times worse. Machines surrounded Shay's bed, machines that were presently all that stood between her and death. Kelly was afraid to touch her for fear that he would accidentally dislodge this wire or that tube.<p>

Leslie just looked so fragile, as if the slightest bump would cause her to shatter.

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><p>Just down the hallway, Gabby was having no easier time as she sat by Casey's bedside while he lay resting in a drug-induced slumber. Try as she might, her gaze kept being drawn to the dressing on the side of his head that covered a long incision from the craniotomy, then to that spot where the blankets fell too short, to the stumps that were now all that remained of Matt's legs, and back again.<p>

Why did this have to happen to them?

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><p>Gabby was broken from her thoughts some time later, by a sharp knock on the doorframe. It was her brother, Antonio.<p>

"I just heard, Gabby. I came straight over," Antonio said as he moved to hug his little sister. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly self conscious, Gabby realised that she had taken no time to clean herself up, and that she must look absolutely frightful. "I'm okay, really. It's just Matt and Shay, everyone else got out okay."

"But you were in that building when it blew up... You scared me sis." Antonio turned his attention to Matt. "How is he anyway? What are the doctors saying?"

"That he'll be kept in a coma for a couple of days, beyond that I don't know. I guess he'll be in rehab for a pretty long time. The doctor was being positive, but we knew that another head injury could be fatal, and even though it was only a small bleed..." Gabby took Matt's limp hand in her own. "He proposed to me, you know, right before we got the call. He told me not to answer, not like that, but now... I should have told him. What if-"

"Hey, don't go there. Matt will be fine."

"But he might not be!"

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><p>Neither Dawson, nor Severide left the bedsides of Casey and Shay that night. Kelly was dozing in a chair by Shay's bed, when he noticed another person's presence, he opened his eyes to find Devon - Shay's sometimes girlfriend - standing over the bed crying.<p>

Severide immediately got to his feet, angered that Devon had the nerve to show up at such a time, not that he would ever accept her presence. "What are you doing here, Devon?" Severide questioned.

"I heard about what happened. Is Leslie going to be okay?"

"You need to leave."

"Please, Kelly. Is Leslie going to be okay?"

"She's in a coma, and the doctors think she could have brain damage. She's on freakin' life support. Is that what you want to hear? Just go away."

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

After Devon stormed out, Kelly was left fuming at the woman's nerve to show her face here, now. And for sometime nothing could calm him, but then in the corner of his eye he thought he saw Shay move.

Instantly Kelly's focus shifted. "Shay," He murmured, going to his best friend's bedside.

Shay then made an uncoordinated, yet purposeful movement to grab for the breathing tube. She was waking up.

"Hey there, take it easy, Shay," Kelly said, pressing the nurse call button before gently holding her arms to keep her from hurting herself. "You're gonna be okay, Shay. Take it easy."

"Can I help you?" One of the ICU nurses, Mary said as she entered the room, "Oh, Ms Shay you're awake. Here, let's see if we can take out that breathing tube."

Mary checked several of the machines, before nodding her head approvingly. "Very good, well I think we can take that tube out now, Ms Shay. Get you feeling a bit more human." Without further delay, the experienced nurse deftly undid the endotracheal tube's fastenings, and then pulled out the tube itself, which in turn caused Shay to cough violently, until she finally lay back.

Grimacing from the pain, Shay spoke to Severide, "What happened?" Her words were hoarse, but clear. It was a good sign.

"There was an explosion. You got hurt pretty bad, but you're gonna be okay. Everything's okay now."

"I'll go get the doctor," Mary told Severide. "They'll want to do a full neuro check. But everything looks good."

"Wait! What does that mean?"

"I'll go get the doctor," Mary replied evasively.

Shay looked to Kelly with fear in her eyes, and truthfully he wasn't fairing much better. "It's okay, Shay," Kelly tried to calm his friend, gently stroking her hair. "Everything's going to be okay."

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><p>From her seat by Matt's bedside Dawson noticed an increase in activity in Shay's room across the hall. Gently setting Matt's limp hand back down on the bed, thinking the worst Gabby rushed to see what was happening with her friend.<p>

Through the glass wall that separated off the room from the hallway, Gabby saw a doctor examining Shay. Shay was okay, she was awake.

Relief rushed through Gabby, but that relief was short lived, as she watched the doctor frown. Something was wrong.

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><p>"Try again, Ms Shay," The intensivist instructed from his position at the end of the bed. "Press against my hands as hard as you can. Alright, you can rest, Ms Shay."<p>

"Is something wrong, doc?" Severide asked worriedly, he too had seen the doctor's expression.

"There is moderate weakness in her arms and legs, there may have been an injury to the part of her brain that controls her muscles. It is not uncommon in such situations, and with physical therapy it may improve." The doctor turned his attention back to Shay, "Otherwise you're doing very well, Ms Shay."

"So when can I get out of here, and go back to work?"

"Well, it's a miracle in and of itself that you are awake and talking. You have to understand that you're recovery will take time. You have been through a massive trauma, and been in a coma for close to two days. It will be a long road just to get you home, you shouldn't even be thinking about returning to work at this stage."

"Why not? I know it won't be easy, but I'll do it."

"Leslie, you have a fractured pelvis, that will keep you in bed for at least four weeks, you also have rib fractures, and signs of mild brain injuries, but ultimately it will be the injury to your kidneys that will prevent you from returning to work. Being on dialysis, and working in a physically demanding job is just not an option. I'm sorry."

"What injury? No one's told me anything," Shay said, craning her neck to see more of what was around her, looking in particular for a dialysis machine.

"Your kidneys sustained major injuries in the explosion. The right one had to be removed, and the left one was severely bruised. Currently you are receiving dialysis through a central line in your neck, we'll continue with three hours sessions four times a week, and monitor for signs that your remaining kidney is starting to function again."

"How long are we talking here? Days? Weeks?"

"Kidney trauma is actually quite rare, and so there really isn't a specific timeframe that I can give you. At this point it is a waiting game. That said, if we don't see any improvement in function in say three months we will need to consider the option of a kidney transplant."

"Transplant?"

"It is a possibility, but let's give that kidney of yours a fair chance to heal before we go making any decisions."

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><p>After the doctor left Dawson tentatively entered the room. She hadn't heard their conversation, however from the tears streaming from Shay's eyes it was fairly easy to guess.<p>

"...am I going to do, Kelly? I can't not work," Shay was yelling at her best friend. "I can't spend the rest of my life hooked up to a damn machine."

"And you won't have to," Kelly replied, only to notice that Shay's attention was elsewhere.

"Gabby," Shay said in greeting, relieved to see that her partner was okay.

"Hi Shay. How are you doing girl?"

"Been better," Shay replied offering her partner a half smile. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt at all, did you?"

"No, I'm okay. But Matt... Matt got hurt pretty bad, he's in a room across the hall."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. Is he going to be alright?"

"Um, we're not really sure yet. He had an epidural bleed, and he um lost his legs, so even when he wakes up, it's not going to be easy."

"Maybe not, but he'll be okay, we all will," Kelly said. "We'll all be okay."

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><p>"Oh my poor baby," Nancy Casey murmured as she walked into her son's hospital room. "Gabriela, I am so sorry that I couldn't get here sooner. Parole curfew, you understand. How is our boy?"<p>

"He's got a long road ahead of him," Gabby said tentatively. "But so far so good. They have him in an induced coma at the moment, but he's going to wake up soon, and he'll be okay."

"I just... I can't believe that they took his legs. When I heard- All he ever wanted to do was be a firefighter, and now..."

"He'll be okay," Gabby said perhaps a little too quickly. "We'll get through this just fine. Yeah, he'll wake up tomorrow, and they'll fit him for prosthetics, and he'll be okay. Even if he can't be a firefighter, we're going to get through this."

"I hope you're right, Gabriela. I hope you're right."

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

Unlike Shay's rather abrupt return to consciousness, Matt's initial return was much slower. On the morning of the third day since the explosion the sedatives keeping Matt asleep were ceased, and after a couple of hours he was able to be taken off of the ventilator.

Gabby was at Matt's side every step of the way.

And when Matt finally opened his eyes, Gabby was there at his side in an instant. "Matt. Hey there, how are you feeling?"

"Hurts," Matt replied, his voice hoarse from being intubated.

Gabby pressed the nurse call button quickly, without taking her attention away from her boyfriend. "I know it does. Just try to take it easy. I'll see if the nurse can give you something."

Within seconds a nurse was at Matt's bedside, pushing a dose of pain relief into his IV. "There you go, Matthew. That should help with your pain, if it doesn't just let me know. Would you like to try some ice chips? They will help the soreness in your throat."

"Yeah, please," Matt replied. Gratefully he accepted the offered spoonful of ice chips. They helped his throat immensely. "I can feel my legs," Matt murmured. "I thought they were going to amputate." From his position lying flat he couldn't see that his legs were in fact gone.

"Matt, honey... They did have to amputate both your legs," Gabby said before turning to the nurse, and asking, "Why can he still feel-"

"It is called phantom limb pain, a very common phenomenon for amputees," The nurse explained to the couple.

Matt began to struggle to sit up, to see for himself. He could still feel his legs, how could they be gone? "Let me up. I need to- I need to see."

Obligingly, the nurse slowly raised the back of the bed, with the warning "Let me know if you feel dizzy at all.", until Matt could see his lower body.

Matt threw the blankets back, needing to truly see it to comprehend it. With a feeling trepidation, Matt slowly moved his hands to touch the end of the thick white gauze which covered the surgical wound on his what remained of his right leg. "But it feels so real... How can they be gone?"

The nurse quietly excused herself, as Gabby attempted to comfort her distraught boyfriend. The problem was that Gabby really didn't know what to say, there were no words that would make the situation better for Matt. His career, his life as he knew it was over, and he faced months if not years of rehabilitation just to regain his mobility.

"I'm so sorry, baby. There was nothing anyone could do, you were trapped, and your legs were crushed... Severide did everything he could, all the guys did."

"Well they should have done more, damn it!" Matt shouted, turning on Gabby.

"Matt..." Gabby began, stunned.

"Get out! Leave me alone!"

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><p>Needless to say, Gabby left Matt alone, if only to keep him from hurting himself. She could not have been more stunned by his sudden outburst. Sobbing, Gabby walked blindly down the hallway, and directly into Severide. "Hey Dawson, what's up?" Kelly asked concerned. "Is Casey alright?"<p>

"Yeah, um he's okay. He woke up, and um he kicked me out of his room," Gabby told him, still choking back sobs. "It wasn't- He wasn't... He's different."

"Different? Different how?" Kelly asked, immediately thinking back to the differences he had seen in Casey after his last major head injury.

"Matt never used to yell at me, he's never yelled at me."

"Hey, it'll be alright. Maybe it was just the shock of seeing, well you know- his legs gone."

"Yeah, maybe."

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><p>After shift that day the members of house fifty-one all came to the hospital to check on their injured colleagues. As visitors were still limited, Severide and Dawson took time away from Shay and Casey to update their coworkers. Neither Shay nor Casey wanted more visitors as they struggled to cope with their changed realities.<p>

Once everyone was gathered, Severide started the impromptu meeting. "Thanks for coming guys, I know that Shay and Casey really appreciate all of your support. As you've probably heard by now, Casey has woken up, and he is doing as well as can be expected. And Shay is doing well, she might even be out of intensive care by tomorrow."

"So when can we visit them?" Hermann asked.

Dawson and Severide exchanged a look; they both knew that neither Shay nor Casey were really up to having visitors. After a lengthy pause, Severide mustered as much tact as he possessed, and answered, "Not yet, but soon we hope."

"Is there anything you're not telling us?" Boden questioned the pair.

"They just need time to adjust."

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><p>The group dispersed soon after, but Chief Boden hung back. He motioned for Dawson to join him in the hallway, away from their colleagues. "Dawson, can I have a word?" Boden said.<p>

"Sure, Chief."

"How's Matt? I mean, how is he really? You were holding back in there."

"He's different, Chief. He kicked me out of his room earlier, I've tried to go back in, but he just is so angry. He's not himself. The neurologist says that it's the brain injury, and that I should prepare myself, because he might be like this permanently," Gabby admitted, choking back tears.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dawson. If you need anything we're all here for you and Casey," Boden replied. He paused, hesitating. "Now, and I do understand that this is a delicate matter under the circumstances... Given Matt's situation Hermann has been promoted to lieutenant, so I wanted to tell you that if you still want it the candidate position at fifty-one is yours. That is of course when you feel ready to come back to work, if you want to take more time..."

"Can I start next shift?" Dawson replied without hesitation. As much as she loved Matt, after the difficult day she had just spent with him, work would be a welcome break.

"If that's what you want."

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Chicago Fire or it's characters. This is purely for fun, and I am making no money from this story.**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Matt felt terrible for yelling at Gabby. As he lay awake that night it seemed impossible to him that he could have said the things he did, it didn't even feel like he was the one who said it all.

It was just such a shock to see his residual limbs, and he had lashed out at the closest person, even though he knew that none of it was her fault.

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><p>Gabby couldn't sleep either, her mind churning over the events of the past day.<p>

As a trained paramedic Gabby knew that the traumatic brain injury, or even just the shock Matt felt explained his unusual behaviour, but as Matt's girlfriend she was deeply hurt by the horrible things Matt had said to her.

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><p>The next morning as Severide entered the hospital to visit Shay he decided to ignore Dawson's strong recommendation not to check in on Casey. After all Matt was like a brother to him.<p>

Matt was lying relatively flat in the bed, as he got dizzy sitting upright, sound asleep. In Severide's opinion Matt didn't look too bad, apart from the obvious surgical interventions to his legs and head Matt looked normal, even if a little pale.

Kelly was hesitant to wake his friend, but in the end he didn't need to.

Sensing someone hovering over him, Matt awoke from his slumber. "Not more pills," Matt mumbled, between his own insomnia and nurses checking on him Matt had gotten very little sleep. "Oh... Sorry, Kelly. I thought- Never mind. It's good to see you, man."

"It's good to see you too. How you feeling?"

Matt shrugged noncommittally. "How are the rest of the guys? No one's been in yet."

"A few scrapes and bruises, apart from you and Shay everyone got out okay."

"What happened to Shay? Is she alright?"

"A falling beam caught her across the back, it did a lot of internal damage, but you know Shay, she's tough."

"Yeah, she is," Matt agreed, pausing before he asked, "Hey, are my clothes around here somewhere?"

"I guess so, why? It's not like I can break you out of here if that's what you're thinking."

"Can you just find them for me?"

"Sure, man," Kelly agreed, beginning to look around the room. It wasn't long before he found a plastic bag labelled 'patient belongings' stuffed under the bed.

The turnout gear and clothes were there, however they were in Severide's opinion too bloodied and torn to be worth salvaging. Holding the bag up for Matt to see, Kelly asked, "Here we go, man. What are you looking for?"

"In my pants pocket there was a ring box, is it there?"

Kelly checked both pockets, no ring box. "It's not here, man. Do you want-"

"Damn it!" Matt suddenly exclaimed, slightly startling Severide. "What the hell have they done with it?! Get it back," he demanded.

Starting to see what Dawson meant by saying that Matt was different, Kelly quickly agreed to his coworker's demand, and made his way out to the nurses station.

* * *

><p>At the nurses station sat a pretty young Spanish nurse, who Kelly recognised as Elena. Casually he approached her, "Elena, hey."<p>

"Mr Severide. Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah actually, well I hope so. I was just in visiting Matt Casey, he works with me and Shay. He was looking for a ring box that he had on him when the accident happened, and I just thought something like that you might have locked away for safekeeping."

"I'm not sure, but I can certainly check for you."

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>"Here we go, Mr Severide," Elena said victoriously, as she returned to the desk several minutes later with a large envelope in hand. "Mr Casey's personal belongings. We do recommend that patients leave such items with us or send them home, but if it will calm him to see that everything is there, then you're welcome to take it to him."<p>

"Yeah, I will, thanks," Kelly said, accepting the envelope from the nurse. After checking that there was in fact a small black ring box in the envelope, Kelly proceeded to return to Matt's room.

No sooner than he walked in the door, Matt asked, "Did you find it?"

"Yeah, man, I found it. The nurses were just keeping it locked up while you were out of it." Normally Severide wouldn't have bothered to add the last part, but given Matt's recent outburst, it felt like the best way to go. "Here you go."

Matt accepted the envelope, thanking Kelly as he did. A wave of relief washed over him as he opened the ring box, and saw the ring completely undamaged. "Do you think she'll still want to marry me?"

"She won't think twice. Gabby loves you, man."

"Does she? Let's face it, I'm not the same guy I was before the explosion."

"What do you mean? You're still the same person."

"Yeah, but instead of being a firefighter, working construction on the side, I'm going to be the guy trying to relearn how to walk at thirty-two. I'll need nursing care for months still, which will end up falling to Gabby to do if she stays with me. Not to mention I've taken one too many knocks to the head, and that's doing God knows what to me. Maybe it would be better if I let her go," Matt finished, staring at the ring box in his hand.

"You really have taken too many knocks to the head if you believe that bullshit, Casey. I'm not into all that touchy feely stuff, but I'll say this... Gabby doesn't want to marry a firefighter, she wants to marry you."

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

**I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


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